As society moves away from centralised fossil fuel generators to increasing shares of distributed renewable energy resources, the idea that customers’ homes could become host to virtual power plants (VPPs), joining the dots between electricity supply and demand across the grid, has gradually gathered traction. Andy Colthorpe speaks with Suleman Khan CEO of Swell Energy, which has raised nearly half a billion dollars in financing for solar-plus-storage VPPs in 14,000 homes across California, New York and Hawaii.

Based on the value it provides to grids as shares of renewable energy grow, energy storage is a “very exciting market,” the VP of Goldman Sachs Renewable Power has said.

Re-examining older and potentially hazardous battery energy storage systems should be an “essential” tool in fire prevention, according to a panel of industry leaders.

A US Navy shipyard is getting an upgrade to its microgrid system from Ameresco that guarantees reliability and considerable energy savings over the lifetime of the project.

Canadian Solar has highlighted the increasing importance of adding energy storage to PV projects and the “significant growth opportunities in the solar-plus-storage market” while reporting its latest quarterly financial results.

Zinc-based battery energy storage manufacturer Eos Energy Storage has signed an agreement with an EPC partner to deploy systems based on its devices at rural microgrids, beginning with projects in Nigeria.

Stem Inc has won out in a competitive Request for Proposals (RFP) to manage a 345MWh fleet of commercial and municipal energy storage systems in Los Angeles, California.

Fluence has been able to keep working on “all but two or three” of 73 utility-scale battery projects, with battery energy storage increasingly considered an essential part of grid infrastructure in many parts of the world.

UK stock exchange-listed dedicated energy storage fund has suspended all construction on assets currently in the works as it also announces the completion of the 10MW Lower Road project in southern England.

Major Australian utility company AGL has signed a 15-year contract for “operational dispatch rights” to a 100MW battery storage system to be built in Queensland.